Determination, Coach Fuel Lakeside High’s Champions

When Lisa Schultz was hired to become Lakeside High’s first girls basketball coach, the new school had freshman only and no history to guide it. Nine years later, the Eagles are best in class.

Last weekend they shared the realization of Schultz’s vision and her insistence that hard work will bring the ultimate reward.

In commanding fashion, Lakeside High swept the field at the 2A State tournament to claim, at last, the championship which had been so tantalizingly close the last two years.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” said tournament Most Valuable Player Brianne Jolley who was playing in her fourth and most gratifying state tournament. “It’s just an awesome feeling. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Lakeside’s dominance was the result of what the players perceived as failure the previous season. The Eagles reached the state semifinals, then lost twice to finish sixth.

“Losing those last two games, ending on that note made us more determined,” said Jolley.

Their desire fueled for a title, they set about working to attain the goal.

“I think at the beginning of this year we knew and had the feeling we had the players to accomplish this goal,” added third-year senior Linsey Heebink. “We knew what we had to do to make it that far, that the hard work and times practicing on Saturdays and holidays would pay off in the end.”

Following a one-point season-opening loss to Idaho A-1 fourth-place finishing Lake City, the Eagles won 25 games in a row.

Victory margin was an astonishing 24 points per game during the regular season and district, with wins over 4A district champion Mead and 3A regional competitor Cheney, and 15 points per game at state.

Included was a second-day 71-63 triumph over top-ranked Elma that made the rest of state seem anticlimactic.

The starters sat on the bench in the fourth quarter of the championship game, savoring their title after building a 53-22 lead over Connell.

When it all began, Schultz’s resume included a stellar college and European professional basketball career but only two years as junior varsity coach at West Valley High when she was hired.

“There was nothing here beforehand, nothing to gauge on,” she said. “Really there was no pressure.”

After two years of junior varsity competition, the still-seniorless team went 0-14 in their Northeast A League debut. But Schultz began to plant the seed.

Where do we want to go, she asked her charges? Are you willing to give up your time to be competitive?

“After the first two years I knew their commitment was more than that,” she said. “The girls fell in love with the game.”

Her goal was to finish in the league’s top four the next season. The girls placed second. In six years, Eagle teams have now compiled a 130-24 win-loss record and won four straight championships.

They have not missed a state tournament in five years. Each year graduating seniors passed those standards of excellence on to succeeding stars.

“I told the kids the harder you work the better prepared you will be,” said Schultz. “It is harder to surrender. If you know you do more running, more conditioning, it’s a mental advantage. You have to do something special, something different to get to the next level.”

This year’s group had every ingredient it took to reach the ultimate goal, the state championship.

Five seniors graduate, including college-bound starters Jolley, Heebink and Janel Long.

They give all the credit for their success as players and people to Schultz.

“She believes in you and you want to do it for her because you have so much respect for her,” said Heebink.

Added Jolley, “For me personally, she’s done so many things I couldn’t name one. She’s given me so much love and support, I’ll miss her.”

Five other players, including three-year starter Nikki Petticrew and sophomore Julia Vojtech will return to continue tradition.

“Until you’ve gone through it, it’s hard to understand,” said Schultz of the years of working and building to this moment. “It falls short, falls short and then, boom, you get it. It’s a special deal.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo